"Accepted with a joyful heart, celibacy radiantly proclaims the reign of god"

And the Spirit is Truth

1 John 5:1-6

Beloved:Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,and everyone who loves the Fatherloves also the one begotten by him.In this way we know that we love the children of Godwhen we love God and obey his commandments.For the love of God is this,that we keep his commandments.And his commandments are not burdensome,for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.Who indeed is the victor over the worldbut the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,not by water alone, but by water and blood.The Spirit is the one that testifies,and the Spirit is truth.

I had the privilege of reading this passage from the first letter of Saint John yesterday at Divine Mercy Sunday mass. It stuck with me most of the day as I thought about these beautiful words. Each line is so important and so inspiring. You can reflect easily on just one sentence to take with you throughout your day.

She laments over the line “And his commandments are not burdensome…” In fact, she did think that some of his commandments were burdensome and thus, struggled to find herself thinking otherwise. But after a few weeks of prayerful reflection every morning and encountering the book “Good News about Sex and Marriage” by Christopher West, she concluded that his commandments are not burdensome. (She was speaking specifically about the sin of contraception). She was just looking at them through a stubborn lens. After reading more about the Catholic Church and the Catechesis, she discovered a whole other world and changed her mind completely about particular commandments that she had found once to be “old fashioned” and “silly.” So when I read that line I pictured and heard Patty’s voice coming through and I was so glad she had changed her mind about this.

But the conclusion is also very poignant. “The Spirit is truth.”

Yes, the Spirit is the one that testifies, that speaks the truth. Jesus Christ is this truth. I think it’s easy to forget this in our secular life. We go searching for the truth when it’s been right in front of us all along. We might be stubborn, we might feel set in our ways, we might not want to know the truth. But there it is:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6

Fit in Your Faith Today: What “truth” are you struggling to believe? What commandments do you find burdensome? How can you look at the commandments or seek the truth through a different “lens?”